Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass will take the ACT college entrance exam for the first time since high school on Monday with Scott McLeod, an associate professor of educational leadership at the University of Kentucky.

Glass, McLeod and a small group of students will take the exam at Roosevelt High School in Des Moines starting at 8 a.m.

The event is the culmination of a friendly debate between Glass and McLeod, a former Iowa State University professor who lives in Ames, regarding the role of standardized tests in preparing students for college and careers.

Education legislation introduced this year by the Branstad administration and supported by Glass calls for all 11th grade students to take a college entrance exam.

McLeod, who questions whether standardized assessments gauge the appropriate knowledge and skills, said his goal is to get an up-close look at the ACT. Sixty-one percent of last year’s Iowa senior class took the exam.

“We’re taking this test for fun, but the discussion around college- and career-readiness is real,” Glass said in a press release.

ACT officials describe the testing session as unofficial, using test forms that are “retired,” or out of cycle. The exams will be scored on Monday.

Glass and McLeod, who each have doctoral degrees, said they will prepare for the four-hour test.